Sedalia police say thefts from vehicles increase each summer, and 2017 is proving to be no different.
Sedalia Police Department Cmdr. Dave Woolery said it’s safe to say the department sees an increase in thefts from vehicles at the beginning of every summer. According to the SPD Records Department, officers responded to 65 reports of theft from a vehicle from Jan. 8 to May 21.
“They’re usually crimes of opportunity — it’s more than likely going to be an unlocked vehicle, usually happens at night,” Woolery said. “If they’re going by just checking doors, they’ll go through and find anything of value – loose money, phones, electronics, anything that can be grabbed quickly.”
Woolery said that in these types of crimes, thieves tend to walk down streets at night checking doors of vehicles to see if they are unlocked, then grabbing whatever they can from inside the unlocked vehicle.
He advised citizens to always lock their vehicles and to remove anything of value from the vehicle overnight.
“It’s not always easy to find a place that’s well lit to park your vehicle, but regardless of where it is, lock it, don’t leave anything in there that would draw the attention of a would-be thief — radar detectors on the dashboard, phones left plugged in and blinking, GPS devices,” Woolery added.
In a public service announcement on the SPD Facebook page, some of the most common items stolen from unlocked vehicles include money, credit cards, checkbooks, clothing and guns. Woolery said citizens should not leave firearms in a vehicle overnight or unattended, noting that SPD has responded to theft reports where someone left a gun on a vehicle seat with the windows open during the day to run inside a store, only to come back and find the gun missing.
While thefts from unlocked vehicles are following the typical summer trend, Woolery said so far SPD has been consistently busy but hasn’t noticed an uptick in other summer crimes this year.
When it comes to general safety, Woolery recommended simply paying attention to one’s surroundings.
“Know your neighborhood, who’s usually there. If you see something suspicious, call us and get a good description to give to the telecommunications officer,” Woolery said. “The more accurate information they give us, the more prepared the officers can be to deal with the situation when they arrive. I urge folks to not be afraid to call us. If it doesn’t feel right to them, there’s a good change it’s not right.”
For more information or to report suspicious activity or crime, call SPD at 660-826-8100. Call 911 in case of an emergency.
